Deep clean for Leeds's own supersonic steam-powered marvel
Today, the impressive De Laval Impulse Steam works at an altogether different pace, enjoying a well-earned retirement at Leeds Industrial Museum.
On display in the museum’s Power House Gallery, this week the mighty turbine has been getting cleaned and conserved while the site is closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
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Hide AdNamed after Swedish inventor and turbine pioneer Gustav de Laval, who devised the impulse nozzle steam turbine in 1890, the machine was originally made by Leeds firm
Greenwood & Batley at their Albion Works in Armley in the early 20th century.
Part of a huge range of products manufactured there between 1856 and 1988, including horse shoes and railway locomotives, the turbine was much more efficient than a
conventional steam engine and worked in excess of a dizzying 2,000 revolutions per minute.
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Hide AdThe object was donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries by Leeds Polytechnic where it had been used as a teaching aid.
John McGoldrick, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of industrial history, said: “The invention of increasingly sophisticated turbines like the De Laval took production to a new
level of speed and efficiency by harnessing the power of steam in a much more dynamic way.
“The turbine we have at the museum was made right here in Leeds and is an example of the scale and variety of machines that were manufactured in the city during what was a really
exciting period of ingenuity and innovation.
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Hide Ad“Engines like these were the driving force behind a golden age of British industry and we’re very proud to be helping to tell the story of the important role Leeds played. It’s also good
to be taking this opportunity to give our engines a bit of care and attention so they’re in top shape when we welcome back visitors.”
Power House features a unique collection of Leeds-made engines including a large hydraulic pump made by Berry of Leeds for the Columbia Gramophone Co. who used it for powering a
record pressing machine.
Also part of the display is a Hattersley Pickard Fan, once used in the traditional Russian steam rooms at Leeds landmark Bramley Baths.
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Hide AdLeeds Industrial Museum is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. More information can be found at: leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus/our-services********************
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